UNCRC Strategic Implementation board minutes: January 2023 - Summary

Attendees and apologies

Members of the board

• Michael Chalmers (Chair), Director for Children and Families
• Ashleigh Pitcairn on behalf of Kay McCorquodale, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
• Ben Farrugia, Social Work Scotland
• Chloe Riddell, The Promise Scotland
• Claire Dobson, on behalf of ACC Gary Ritchie, Police Scotland
• Des Murray, SOLACE
• Dragan Nastic, UNICEF UK
• Eleanor Kerr, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Gayle Devlin, Social Security Scotland
• Gayle Gorman, Education Scotland
• Gina Wilson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYCPS)
• Jennifer Davidson, Institute for Inspiring Children’s Futures
• Juliet Harris, Together Scotland
• Laura Pasternak, Coalition of Care and Support Providers (CCPS)
• Margaret Gibb, Parenting Across Scotland
• Norma Ruettimann, Care and Learning Alliance (CALA)
• Rebekah Cameron-Berry, on behalf of Laura Caven, Convention of Scotland Local Authorities (COSLA)

Scottish Government officials

• Ian Donaldson, Deputy Director for Children’s Rights, Protection and Justice
• Andrew Preston, UNCRC Programme Assistant
• Anna Munro, SGLD
• Carola Eyber, UNCRC Capacity Building Manager
• Liz Levy, Joint Unit Head, Children’s Rights Unit
• Lyndsey Saki, Embedding Children’s Rights in Public Services Programme Lead
• Paul Gorman, Empowered Children and Young People Lead
• Shona Spence, UNCRC Bill Lead
• Susan Revie, UNCRC Capacity Building Manager
• Eilidh Walker, UNCRC Programme Assistant (minutes)

Apologies, members of the board

• Angela Leitch, Public Health Scotland
• Craig Morris, Care Inspectorate
• David Wallace, Social Security Scotland
• ACC Gary Ritchie, Police Scotland
• Kay McCorquodale, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
• Michael Cameron, Scottish Housing Regulator
• Richmond Davies, Public Health Scotland

Apologies

• Dean Snape, UNCRC Project Manager
• Gita Sharkey, Joint Unit Head, Children’s Rights Unit

Items and actions

What is the Strategic Implementation Board?

The Strategic Implementation Board (or SIB, for short) is a group of people that meet every month. They support the Government to make the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) part of Scots law. They put in place support for organisations, children and young people, and their families to help ensure that children’s rights are made real. They discuss if the work is on track and help to resolve any problems in trying to make this happen. There are people on the SIB from Police, Education, Health, Social Work, children’s rights organisations, and the Scottish Government.

What was discussed at this meeting?

Progress with the Bill
The Scottish Government and the UK Government have been discussing changes to the Bill that incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law.

Members of the SIB thanked officials for their hard work and offered support in progressing the Bill.

Some SIB members spoke about the need to have a timeline for the Bill returning to the Scottish Parliament. However, due to the ongoing conversations with the UK Government, this is not possible at this stage.

Some members also expressed frustration, noting that it has been almost two years since the original Bill passed in the Scottish Parliament.

Monitoring and Evaluation
The Scottish Government is exploring ways to monitor and evaluate the impact of the UNCRC Bill. A small group of SIB members met before the main meeting to discuss proposals. During the meeting, all members had an opportunity to provide input. The group agreed that the proposals were strong and would support Scotland’s reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Programme Update for Public Authorities
The Scottish Government aims to support all Public Authorities to take a Child Rights-based approach. The SIB discussed how this work would be implemented. Members agreed it is important and offered their support.

Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)
The SIB received a presentation from Together. Their vision is for all children and young people growing up in Scotland to have their human rights respected, protected, and fulfilled.

The next meeting of the SIB will be held on Tuesday 28 February 2023